Welt support



Nov. 2, 1937. wfc. CARD, JR 2,097,870

WELT SUPPORT Filed Jan. 6, 1937 l I Patented Nov. 2, 1937 PATENT OFFICE WELT SUPPORT william o. cara, Jr.,

Winthrop, Mass., assignor to Compo Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass., a corporation ofpDelaware Application January 6,

s claims.

' This invention relates to the manufacture of footwear, and more particularly to'apparatus for filling the welt crease ofa shoe so as to support the welt or sole during the application of pressure thereto from below, as in s'ole-aixing, soleleveling, channel-laying or heel-aflixing operations.

A general object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved form of welt support, or other like support insertable in what is called the welt crease portion of a shoe.

More particularly, objects of the invention are to provide a light, freely movable, simply constructed welt support which an operator can quickly and easily position on an end of a shoe by hand, which is capable of being used in association with any one of several shoe pressing devices, such as a sole-aixing press, a heelaiilxing clamp, a sole-leveling or channel-laying press, or the like.

Other objects of theinvention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, 'combination of elements and Varrangement of parts, which will be exemplied in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects o-f the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which: i

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device ernbodying features of the invention shown in its operative position on the heel end of 4a shoe which is shown in dotted outline;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. V3 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view along line `3 3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse, vertical sectional view along line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

In the manufacture of some types of shoes, a welt is run entirely around the bottom of the shoe including the heel portion, and an outsole, or a half sole and a heel may thereafter be cemented to such welt. The illustrative form of device shown in the present drawing is especially suited to fill the welt crease at the heel of such a completely welted shoe. However, it will be obvious that certain benefits of the invention may be obtained by configuring such a device for use at the toe-end and forepart 1937,v serial No. 119,182 (el. 15a-ssi portion. Y -For the sake of brevity, the latter form has .not been illustrated since its features can readily `be understood from the heel attachment hereinafter described in detail- The device comprises a pair of opposed platens I0 and II having'curved inner edges adapted respectively to follow the contour of the welt crease along opposite sides of the heel end of a shoe. The upper surfaces ofthe platens are bevelled as'at I2 and I3 to enable them to enter well within the welt crease where they are supported against upward displacementby contact Vwith the lasted upper. These platens are substantially rigid, being preferably formed of sheet metal. The platens are interconnected for relative movement toward andfrom each other. To this end, each platen has an extending portion located outwardly beyond the end of the shoe in which are screwedV pins Thesepins pass through slots I6 and I1 in a bar I8 which spans the ends of the platens. The pins each have a shank portion I9 which is snugly accommodatedwithin the transverse dimension of its accommodating slot. The upper end of each pin is in the form of an enlarged head adapted to overlie the sides of its respectiverslot so as to hold the platens and bar I8 in assembled relation.

The bar I8 has a guide groove 2D extending continuously along its underside, and the platens III) and II respectively have guiding ribs or keys 2| and 22 riveted thereto. These ribs t within the groove 2l) and compel the platens to approach each other along a rectilinear path.

` A tension spring 23 connects the pins I4 and I5 and gives the platens a normal bias toward each other. Since the platens are compelled to move bodily toward each other, the spring 23 is eiective to grip them; about the end of a shoe, and this spring may be conveniently and compactly located at the closed ends of the platens, without requiring any shoe spanning structure or complicated press fittings, such as are needed with pivotally interconnected platens where the open ends of the platens must be spring connected or otherwise guided.

'Ihe device is free from attachment to any other shoe press equipment, or the like, and is adapted to be clipped readily in place by the operator by simply pushing it endwise on the heel end of a shoe with the platens entered in the welt crease. The spring 23 keeps the platens I4 and l5 respectively. 'l

in snug gripping relation with the shoe. The platens overlie the Welt at the heel of the shoe, and being supported by the lasted upper, hold the Welt against pressure applied from below, as, for example, during a heel-aixing operation if the heel is to be applied directly against the welted heel seat. The platen is also useful to hold down and support the Welt during a soleaixing operation and, in this use, it ,can be employed at either end of the shoe, or else devices having platens suitably configured for heel or the forepart, or both, may be provided. The device is very simple in construction .and differently sized units may be provided to care for Wide variations in shoe sizes, or, if desired, differently sized platens may be intertted with the assembly comprising bar I8, pins I4 and l5,

and spring 23.

The hold-down is additionally useful in any operation in which a welt is to be supported against pressure supplied from below, such as sole-leveling or channeling. It is also contemplated that it may be used as a support for the extension edge of an outsole of an unwelted shoe to prevent sole rolling during certain operations, and in this application it can be adapted either to the heel or forepart portions of the shoe. Y

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could'be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained inthe above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be said 'to' fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as' new and desire to secure by Letters Patent isf l. -A Welt support unit adapted to be placed in the Welt crease of a shoe during .a pressing operation, comprising a pair of relatively .movable platens shaped to t in the-welt crease on opposite sides of a shoe, guide means confining said platens to straight-line movement toward and from each other, and spring means urging mutual approach of said platens.

2. A Welt support unit adapted to be placed in thewelt crease of a shoe during a pressing operation, comprising a pair of relatively movable platens shaped to fit-in the welt crease on opposite sides of a shoe at one end thereof vand having portions extending beyond the end of such shoe, guide means spanning the extending portions of said platens confining them to straight-line movement toward and from each other, and spring means connecting said extending portions and urging ymutual approach of said platens.

3. A weltl support unit'adapted to be'placed inthe welt crease of a shoe during a pressing operation,

either the comprising a pair of relatively movable platens cooperating to form a U-shaped support insertable in the welt crease around the end of a shoe, and means at the closed end of such support for urging said platens bodily toward each other into gripping relation with said shoe.

4. A welt support unit adapted to be placed in Vthe welt crease of.a shoe .during Aa pressing operation, comprising pa pair lof relatively ymovable platens shaped to t in the welt crease on opposite sides of a shoe and having portions extending beyond the end of said shoe, and means connecting ,theextending portions of said platens and urging them bodily toward each other into gripping relation with said shoe.

`15. A support unit adapted to be used in conjunction with a shoe bottom pressing device, Vcomprising relatively movable rigid platen means cooperating to form a support shaped to fit into the Welt crease around the heel end of a shoe, and means urging said platens bodily toward each other in gripping relation With said shoe, said unit being freely movable and adapted to be clipped by hand into position on `said shoe prior to the insertion of the shoe .insaid pressing device.

6. jA Welt support unit, adapted :to be placed in the welt crease of a shoe during a pressing operation, comprising a pair of platens shaped to t in the welt crease on opposite sides of a shoe, and a bar slidably mounting said platens for straightline sliding movement toward and from each other, said unit being freely movable and adapted to be clipped by hand on a shoe prior to insertion of the latter ina bottom'pressing device.

7. A welt support unit adapted to be placed in the welt crease of a shoe during a pressing operation, comprising a pair of platens shaped Ato fit in the welt crease around one end of a shoe, a bar spanning the ends of said platens beyond such shoe, and cooperating guide means .on said bar and platens confining the latter to straight-line movement toward and from each other, and spring means urging said platens together.

8. A Welt support unit adapted to be placed in the welt crease of a shoe duringa pressing operation, comprising a pair of platens shaped to fit in the Welt crease around one end of .a shoe, a bar spanning the ends of said platens lbeyond said shoe and having a rectilinear guideway, guide ribs on said platens confining them'to movement along said guideway, and .means holding said bar and platens in cooperating guiding relation.

9. A welt support unit adapted to be placed in the Welt crease of a shoe during a pressing operation, comprising a pair of platens shaped to fit in the welt crease around one end of al shoe, a bar spanning the ends of said platens beyond `said shoeand having a rectilinear guideway, guide ribs on said platens conning them to movement along said -.guidevvay, means holding said bar and platens in cooperating guiding relation, and a tension spring connecting said ends of said platens.

WILLIAM C. CARD, JR. 

